Linda Vigilant
Biographic Data
| ID | 625075 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Linda Vigilant |
| GIVEN NAMES | Linda |
| FAMILY NAME | Vigilant |
| SIGNATURE | VIGILANT L |
| AFFILIATIONS | Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4509-1260 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 47 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 178 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 47 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1989 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2022 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
The complex Y‐chromosomal history of gorillas
Studies of the evolutionary relationships among gorilla populations using autosomal and mitochondrial sequences suggest that male‐mediated gene flow may have been important in the past, but data on the Y‐chromosomal relationships among the gorilla subspecies are limited. Here, we genotyped blood and noninvasively collected fecal samples from 12 captives and 257 wild male gorillas of known origin representing all four subspecies ( Gorilla gorilla …
Quantitative estimates of glacial refugia for chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ) since the Last Interglacial (120,000 BP)
Paleoclimate reconstructions have enhanced our understanding of how past climates have shaped present‐day biodiversity. We hypothesize that the geographic extent of Pleistocene forest refugia and suitable habitat fluctuated significantly in time during the late Quaternary for chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ). Using bioclimatic variables representing monthly temperature and precipitation estimates, past human population density data, and an extensi…
Sexual dimorphism in chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) and human age-specific fertility
Infant carrying by a wild chimpanzee father at Bulindi, Uganda
Dispersal and reproductive careers of male mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
Dispersal is a key event in the life of an animal and it influences individual reproductive success. Male mountain gorillas exhibit both philopatry and dispersal, resulting in a mixed one-male and multimale social organization. However, little is known about the relationship between male dispersal or philopatry and reproductive careers in Bwindi mountain gorillas. Here we analyze data spanning from 1993 to 2017 on social groups in Bwindi Impenetr…
Aggression by male bonobos against immature individuals does not fit with predictions of infanticide
The selective advantage of male infanticide is enhancement of reproductive success of the aggressor. This implies that aggression is directed at individuals sired by others, infant loss shortens the mother's inter-birth interval, and the aggressor has a greater likelihood of siring the next offspring of the victims' mother. As these conditions are not always met, the occurrence of male infanticide is expected to vary, and hominoid primates offer …
Male-female relationships in olive baboons (Papio anubis): Parenting or mating effort
Genetic analysis suggests dispersal among chimpanzees in a fragmented forest landscape in Uganda
Habitat fragmentation is a leading threat to global biodiversity. Dispersal plays a key role in gene flow and population viability, but the impact of fragmentation on dispersal patterns remains poorly understood. Among chimpanzees, males typically remain in their natal communities while females often disperse. However, habitat loss and fragmentation may cause severe ecological disruptions, potentially resulting in decreased fitness benefits of ma…
Non‐invasive genetic censusing and monitoring of primate populations
Knowing the density or abundance of primate populations is essential for their conservation management and contextualizing socio-demographic and behavioral observations. When direct counts of animals are not possible, genetic analysis of non-invasive samples collected from wildlife populations allows estimates of population size with higher accuracy and precision than is possible using indirect signs. Furthermore, in contrast to traditional indir…
Long‐term group membership and dynamics in a wild western lowland gorilla population ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla ) inferred using non‐invasive genetics
The social organization of a group‐living animal is defined by a balance between group dynamic events such as group formation, group dissolution, and dispersal events and group stability in membership and over time. Understanding these processes, which are relevant for questions ranging from disease transmission patterns to the evolution of polygyny, requires long‐term monitoring of multiple social units over time. Because all great ape species a…
Population‐level assessment of genetic diversity and habitat fragmentation in critically endangered G rauer's gorillas
OBJECTIVES: The critically endangered Grauer's gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri) has experienced an estimated 77% population decline within a single generation. Although crucial for informed conservation decisions, there is no clear understanding about population structure and distribution of genetic diversity across the species' highly fragmented range. We fill this gap by studying several core and peripheral Grauer's gorilla populations throug…
Stable and fluctuating social preferences and implications for cooperation among female bonobos at L ui K otale, S alonga N ational P ark, DRC
OBJECTIVES: Female bonobos (Pan paniscus) are characterized as highly affiliative and cooperative, but few studies have quantified the strength and stability of female intra-sexual relationships or explored how variation in social relationships influences cooperation. We measure female social preferences, identify causes of variation in preferences, and test whether variation in social preferences predicts food sharing or coalitionary support. ME…
The ties that bind: Maternal kin bias in a multilevel primate society despite natal dispersal by both sexes
In many social animals, individuals derive fitness benefits from close social bonds, which are often formed among kin of the philopatric sex. Hamadryas baboons, however, exhibit a hierarchical, multilevel social system where both sexes disperse from their natal one-male-unit (OMU). Although this would seem to hinder maintenance of kin ties, both sexes appear largely philopatric at the higher order band and clan levels, possibly allowing for bonds…
Characterization of MHC class II B polymorphism in multiple populations of wild gorillas using non‐invasive samples and next‐generation sequencing
Genes encoded by the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) are crucial for the recognition and presentation of antigens to the immune system. In contrast to their closest relatives, chimpanzees and humans, much less is known about variation in gorillas at these loci. This study explored the exon 2 variation of -DPB1, -DQB1, and -DRB genes in 46 gorillas from four populations while simultaneously evaluating the feasibility of using fecal samples …
The geographic distribution of genetic diversity within gorillas
Gorillas, like all non-human great apes, are endangered. Understanding the distribution of genetic diversity across their range is important because low diversity may arise in small populations through increased inbreeding, and, by reducing reproductive fitness, may lead to decreased chances of persistence of a given population. Previous studies found higher genetic diversity in the western (Gorilla gorilla) than in the eastern gorillas (Gorilla …
Genetic Analyses Suggest Male Philopatry and Territoriality in Savanna-Woodland Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) of Ugalla, Tanzania
The sampling scheme matters: Pan troglodytes troglodytes and P. t . schweinfurthii are characterized by clinal genetic variation rather than a strong subspecies break
Populations of an organism living in marked geographical or evolutionary isolation from other populations of the same species are often termed subspecies and expected to show some degree of genetic distinctiveness. The common chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes ) is currently described as four geographically delimited subspecies: the western ( P. t. verus ), the nigerian‐cameroonian ( P. t. ellioti ), the central ( P. t. troglodytes ) and the eastern ( …
Fine-scale genetic assessment of sex-specific dispersal patterns in a multilevel primate society
A population estimate of chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii ) in the Ugalla region using standard and spatially explicit genetic capture–recapture methods
Population parameters such as size, density, and distribution of a species across a landscape are important metrics that inform conservation science and are key to management strategies. In this study, we used genetic capture-recapture methods to estimate the population size and density of the little-studied chimpanzees in the Ugalla region of western Tanzania. From 237 fecal samples collected non-invasively over a 10-month period, we identified …
The genetic population structure of wild western lowland gorillas ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla ) living in continuous rain forest
To understand the evolutionary histories and conservation potential of wild animal species it is useful to assess whether taxa are genetically structured into different populations and identify the underlying factors responsible for any clustering. Landscape features such as rivers may influence genetic population structure, and analysis of structure by sex can further reveal effects of sex-specific dispersal. Using microsatellite genotypes obtai…
Evidence of male‐biased dispersal in the endangered Sichuan snub‐nosed monkey ( Rhinopithexus roxellana )
Although sex-biased dispersal has profound effects on the viability of small and isolated populations resulting from habitat change and anthropogenic disturbance, the direction and strength of sex-biased dispersal in the endangered Sichuan snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithexus roxellana) remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated dispersal patterns of R. roxellana using 15 polymorphic microsatellite loci. Using noninvasive methods we obtained 33…
Genetic analyses suggest no immigration of adult females and their offspring into the Sonso community of chimpanzees in the Budongo Forest Reserve, Uganda
Chimpanzees are frequently used to illustrate the relationship between sex differences in dispersal and sex differences in cooperation in primates and other group-living mammals. Male chimpanzees are highly philopatric, typically remaining in their natal communities for their entire lives to cooperate with related males in competition against less related males from other groups, whereas females typically disperse once at adolescence and cooperat…
How old are chimpanzee communities? Time to the most recent common ancestor of the Y-chromosome in highly patrilocal societies
Generation times in wild chimpanzees and gorillas suggest earlier divergence times in great ape and human evolution
Fossils and molecular data are two independent sources of information that should in principle provide consistent inferences of when evolutionary lineages diverged. Here we use an alternative approach to genetic inference of species split times in recent human and ape evolution that is independent of the fossil record. We first use genetic parentage information on a large number of wild chimpanzees and mountain gorillas to directly infer their av…
Genetic Sampling of Unhabituated Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in Gishwati Forest Reserve, an Isolated Forest Fragment in Western Rwanda
Male competition and paternity in wild chimpanzees of the Taï forest
In social animals, competition among males for mates affects individual reproductive success. The priority‐of‐access model attempts to account for the influence of demographic conditions within groups upon male reproductive success, but empirical data for testing this model are scarce. Our long‐term study of chimpanzees in the Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire, encompasses a period of steady decrease in community size and fluctuating numbers of co…
Dental development of the Taï Forest chimpanzees revisited
Paternity and social rank in wild chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ) from the Budongo Forest, Uganda
We analyzed patterns of paternity and male dominance rank in the Sonso community of wild East African chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii ) in the Budongo Forest, Uganda. Our major objective was to determine whether and how social rank influenced paternity success. We successfully genotyped 52 individuals at up to nine microsatellite loci, using DNA extracted from fecal samples. Of 24 offspring analyzed, we identified sires for 21. Pater…
Relatedness in wild chimpanzees: Influence of paternity, male philopatry, and demographic factors
In chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ), high‐ranking males are expected to have high reproductive success and females typically emigrate upon reaching maturity. Although high average relatedness among males in the same social groups has been assumed, previous reports have indicated that relatedness among males is not necessarily significantly higher than that among females. The paternity of 11 offspring and the relatedness of 50 individuals in the M …
Fine-scale genetic assessment of sex-specific dispersal patterns in a multilevel primate society
Fatal Chimpanzee Attack in Loango National Park, Gabon
Stable and fluctuating social preferences and implications for cooperation among female bonobos at L ui K otale, S alonga N ational P ark, DRC
OBJECTIVES: Female bonobos (Pan paniscus) are characterized as highly affiliative and cooperative, but few studies have quantified the strength and stability of female intra-sexual relationships or explored how variation in social relationships influences cooperation. We measure female social preferences, identify causes of variation in preferences, and test whether variation in social preferences predicts food sharing or coalitionary support. ME…
Male-female relationships in olive baboons (Papio anubis): Parenting or mating effort
How old are chimpanzee communities? Time to the most recent common ancestor of the Y-chromosome in highly patrilocal societies
Genetic Sampling of Unhabituated Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in Gishwati Forest Reserve, an Isolated Forest Fragment in Western Rwanda
Genetic Analyses Suggest Male Philopatry and Territoriality in Savanna-Woodland Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) of Ugalla, Tanzania
Patterns of paternity and group fission in wild multimale mountain gorilla groups
To understand variation among social systems, it is essential to know the relative reproductive success of individuals in group‐living species. Particularly interesting for such studies are taxa such as mountain gorillas in which both one‐male and multimale groups are common, because of the opportunity to estimate the costs and benefits to males of pursuing different reproductive strategies. We genotyped 68 individuals from two groups of multimal…
Aggression by male bonobos against immature individuals does not fit with predictions of infanticide
The selective advantage of male infanticide is enhancement of reproductive success of the aggressor. This implies that aggression is directed at individuals sired by others, infant loss shortens the mother's inter-birth interval, and the aggressor has a greater likelihood of siring the next offspring of the victims' mother. As these conditions are not always met, the occurrence of male infanticide is expected to vary, and hominoid primates offer …
The sampling scheme matters: Pan troglodytes troglodytes and P. t . schweinfurthii are characterized by clinal genetic variation rather than a strong subspecies break
Populations of an organism living in marked geographical or evolutionary isolation from other populations of the same species are often termed subspecies and expected to show some degree of genetic distinctiveness. The common chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes ) is currently described as four geographically delimited subspecies: the western ( P. t. verus ), the nigerian‐cameroonian ( P. t. ellioti ), the central ( P. t. troglodytes ) and the eastern ( …
Abstracts of AAPA Poster and Podium Presentations
Aging Medicine is an open access journal for international collaboration in multiple research disciplines across the aging sciences. The American Journal of Biological Anthropology is a physical anthropology publication, accepting evolutionary articles in bioarcheology, human & primate biology, & more
Population‐level assessment of genetic diversity and habitat fragmentation in critically endangered G rauer's gorillas
OBJECTIVES: The critically endangered Grauer's gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri) has experienced an estimated 77% population decline within a single generation. Although crucial for informed conservation decisions, there is no clear understanding about population structure and distribution of genetic diversity across the species' highly fragmented range. We fill this gap by studying several core and peripheral Grauer's gorilla populations throug…
Mitochondrial DNA sequence from an enigmatic gorilla population ( Gorilla gorilla uellensis )
Although today gorillas are found in only two widely separate, discontinuous western and eastern African populations, rumors of the existence of an additional gorilla population in central Africa have inspired recent unsuccessful field expeditions in search of the “mystery ape” termed Gorilla gorilla uellensis . Such a gorilla population would have considerable conservation and scientific interest, and would presumably have descended from a popul…
Sexual dimorphism in chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) and human age-specific fertility
Mitochondrial DNA sequences in single hairs from a southern African population.
Hypervariable parts of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) were amplified enzymatically and sequenced directly by using genomic DNA from single plucked human hairs. This method has been applied to study mtDNA sequence variation among 15 members of the !Kung population. A genealogical tree relating these aboriginal, Khoisan-speaking southern Africans to 68 other humans and to one chimpanzee has the deepest branches occurring amongst the !Kung, a result cons…
African Populations and the Evolution of Human Mitochondrial DNA
The proposal that all mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) types in contemporary humans stem from a common ancestor present in an African population some 200,000 years ago has attracted much attention. To study this proposal further, two hypervariable segments of mtDNA were sequenced from 189 people of diverse geographic origin, including 121 native Africans. Geographic specificity was observed in that identical mtDNA types are shared within but not between…
Abstracts of AAPA Poster and Podium Presentations
Aging Medicine is an open access journal for international collaboration in multiple research disciplines across the aging sciences. The American Journal of Biological Anthropology is a physical anthropology publication, accepting evolutionary articles in bioarcheology, human & primate biology, & more
Technical challenges in the microsatellite genotyping of a wild chimpanzee population using feces
I will present some preliminary results from a study of habituated communities of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in the Tai National Park, Ivory Coast. The necessary investment, particularly in terms of time and expense, of generating reliable genotypes from a large number of individuals will be described
Mitochondrial DNA sequence from an enigmatic gorilla population ( Gorilla gorilla uellensis )
Although today gorillas are found in only two widely separate, discontinuous western and eastern African populations, rumors of the existence of an additional gorilla population in central Africa have inspired recent unsuccessful field expeditions in search of the “mystery ape” termed Gorilla gorilla uellensis . Such a gorilla population would have considerable conservation and scientific interest, and would presumably have descended from a popul…
Genetic Analyses from Ancient DNA
About 20 years ago, DNA sequences were separately described from the quagga (a type of zebra) and an ancient Egyptian individual. What made these DNA sequences exceptional was that they were derived from 140- and 2400-year-old specimens. However, ancient DNA research, defined broadly as the retrieval of DNA sequences from museum specimens, archaeological finds, fossil remains, and other unusual sources of DNA, only really became feasible with the…
Cross‐species amplification of human microsatellite markers using noninvasive samples from white‐handed gibbons ( Hylobates lar )
Analysis of the population genetic structure and reproductive strategies of various primate species has been facilitated by cross‐species amplification (i.e., the use of microsatellite markers developed in one species for analysis of another). In this study we screened 47 human‐derived markers to assess their utility in the white‐handed gibbon ( Hylobates lar ). Only eight produced accurate, reliable results, and exhibited levels of polymorphism …
Genotyping aids field study of unhabituated wild chimpanzees
Prolonged habituation times for wild great apes delay the collection of behavioral and environmental data, sometimes for years. However, genotyping of noninvasively collected feces can provide useful socioecological information in the meantime. We tested this premise on an unhabituated wild population of western chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes verus ) at Mont Assirik, Senegal. Genotyping yielded information on kinship, group size, party size and co…
Male competition and paternity in wild chimpanzees of the Taï forest
In social animals, competition among males for mates affects individual reproductive success. The priority‐of‐access model attempts to account for the influence of demographic conditions within groups upon male reproductive success, but empirical data for testing this model are scarce. Our long‐term study of chimpanzees in the Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire, encompasses a period of steady decrease in community size and fluctuating numbers of co…
The limited impact of kinship on cooperation in wild chimpanzees
The complex cooperative behavior exhibited by wild chimpanzees generates considerable theoretical and empirical interest, yet we know very little about the mechanisms responsible for its evolution. Here, we investigate the influence of kinship on the cooperative behavior of male chimpanzees living in an unusually large community at Ngogo in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Using long-term field observations and molecular genetic techniques to identi…
Plant DNA sequences from feces: Potential means for assessing diets of wild primates
Analyses of plant DNA in feces provides a promising, yet largely unexplored, means of documenting the diets of elusive primates. Here we demonstrate the promise and pitfalls of this approach using DNA extracted from fecal samples of wild western gorillas ( Gorilla gorilla ) and black and white colobus monkeys ( Colobus guereza ). From these DNA extracts we amplified, cloned, and sequenced small segments of chloroplast DNA (part of the rbcL gene) …
Fatal Chimpanzee Attack in Loango National Park, Gabon
Effects of habitat fragmentation, population size and demographic history on genetic diversity: The cross river gorilla in a comparative context
In small and fragmented populations, genetic diversity may be reduced owing to increased levels of drift and inbreeding. This reduced diversity is often associated with decreased fitness and a higher threat of extinction. However, it is difficult to determine when a population has low diversity except in a comparative context. We assessed genetic variability in the critically endangered Cross River gorilla ( Gorilla gorilla diehli ), a small and …
Patterns of paternity and group fission in wild multimale mountain gorilla groups
To understand variation among social systems, it is essential to know the relative reproductive success of individuals in group‐living species. Particularly interesting for such studies are taxa such as mountain gorillas in which both one‐male and multimale groups are common, because of the opportunity to estimate the costs and benefits to males of pursuing different reproductive strategies. We genotyped 68 individuals from two groups of multimal…
Relatedness in wild chimpanzees: Influence of paternity, male philopatry, and demographic factors
In chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ), high‐ranking males are expected to have high reproductive success and females typically emigrate upon reaching maturity. Although high average relatedness among males in the same social groups has been assumed, previous reports have indicated that relatedness among males is not necessarily significantly higher than that among females. The paternity of 11 offspring and the relatedness of 50 individuals in the M …
Using genetics to understand the dynamics of wild primate populations
While much can be learned about primates by means of observation, the slow life history of many primates means that even decades of dedicated effort cannot illuminate long-term evolutionary processes. For example, while the size of a contemporary population can be estimated from field censuses, it is often desirable to know whether a population has been constant or changing in size over a time frame of hundreds or thousands of years. Even the nat…
Kinship and social bonds in female chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes )
A large body of theoretical and empirical research suggests that kinship influences the development and maintenance of social bonds among group‐living female mammals, and that human females may be unusual in the extent to which individuals form differentiated social relationships with nonrelatives. Here we combine behavioral observations of party association, spatial proximity, grooming, and space use with extensive molecular genetic analyses to …
Elucidating Population Histories Using Genomic DNA Sequences
In 1993, Cliff Jolly suggested that rather than debating species definitions and classifications, energy would be better spent investigating multidimensional patterns of variation and gene flow among populations. Until now, however, genetic studies of wild primate populations have been limited to very small portions of the genome. Access to complete genome sequences of humans, chimpanzees, macaques, and other primates makes it possible to design …
Social Bonds Enhance Reproductive Success in Male Macaques
Male dominance and reproductive success in wild white‐faced capuchins ( Cebus capucinus ) at Lomas Barbudal, Costa Rica
Theory and a growing body of empirical evidence suggest that higher ranking males experience reproductive advantages in group‐living mammals. White‐faced capuchins ( Cebus capucinus ) exhibit an interesting social system for investigating the relationship between dominance and reproductive success (RS) because they live in multimale multifemale social groups, in which the alpha males can have extraordinarily long tenures (i.e. they coreside with …
Paternity and social rank in wild chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ) from the Budongo Forest, Uganda
We analyzed patterns of paternity and male dominance rank in the Sonso community of wild East African chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii ) in the Budongo Forest, Uganda. Our major objective was to determine whether and how social rank influenced paternity success. We successfully genotyped 52 individuals at up to nine microsatellite loci, using DNA extracted from fecal samples. Of 24 offspring analyzed, we identified sires for 21. Pater…
Dental development of the Taï Forest chimpanzees revisited
Generation times in wild chimpanzees and gorillas suggest earlier divergence times in great ape and human evolution
Fossils and molecular data are two independent sources of information that should in principle provide consistent inferences of when evolutionary lineages diverged. Here we use an alternative approach to genetic inference of species split times in recent human and ape evolution that is independent of the fossil record. We first use genetic parentage information on a large number of wild chimpanzees and mountain gorillas to directly infer their av…
Genetic Sampling of Unhabituated Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in Gishwati Forest Reserve, an Isolated Forest Fragment in Western Rwanda
A population estimate of chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii ) in the Ugalla region using standard and spatially explicit genetic capture–recapture methods
Population parameters such as size, density, and distribution of a species across a landscape are important metrics that inform conservation science and are key to management strategies. In this study, we used genetic capture-recapture methods to estimate the population size and density of the little-studied chimpanzees in the Ugalla region of western Tanzania. From 237 fecal samples collected non-invasively over a 10-month period, we identified …
Biology (46 works) · Primate Behavior and Ecology (39 works) · Demography (36 works) · Population (29 works) · Ecology (26 works) · Zoology (24 works) · Evolutionary biology (20 works) · Animal Behavior and Reproduction (19 works) · Ecology (14 works) · Genetics (14 works)